ManifestAR @ ZERO1 Biennial 2012

ManifestAR is an international artists’ collective working with emergent forms of augmented reality as interventionist public art. The collective has established a citywide augmented reality public art exhibition for the 2012 ZERO1 Biennial with parallel components at the Samek Art Gallery at Bucknell University in Lewisburg Pennsylvania. Titled “ManifestAR @ ZERO1,” the group draws on collective, participatory art practices centered on mobile augmented reality technology that aggregates and maps a series of artworks, which re-imagine and reinterpret the high-tech corporate campuses and products of Silicon Valley. Performative and site-specific works are located around the cities of San Jose, San Francisco and Lewisburg.

Whereas the public square was once the quintessential place to air grievances, display solidarity, express difference, celebrate similarity, remember, mourn, and reinforce shared values of right and wrong, it is no longer the only anchor for interactions in the public realm. That geography has been relocated to a novel terrain, one that encourages exploration of mobile location based art. Moreover, public space is now truly open, as artworks can be placed anywhere in the world, without prior permission from government or private authorities – with profound implications for art in the public sphere and the discourse that surrounds it.

Instructions

To view the work on any late model iPhone or Android, consult the ManifestAR @ ZERO1 Biennial 2012 Map for a project location near you

Projects

The connection from Lewisburg Pennsylvania to the high-tech corporate campuses of Silicon Valley can be traced in the migration of the worlds manufacturing on its never ending quest for the least expensive, least regulated labor force and the trail of economic devastation it leaves in its wake. Viewed through their own mobile device, the “From Lewisburg, PA to Silicon Valley” augmented reality public art project asks the audience to consider their own implications in this global history. Read more.

“The Bottomless Pit,” Mark Skwarek

“Bottomless Pit” connects San Jose and Lewisburg with a very large tunnel. People can throw virtual objects, including products such as iPads and iPhones, into the the pit and participants at the other end of the tunnel will see the object fall out of the hole. Some of the objects may be magically transformed during their passage through the hole. The objects will pile up on the opposite side of the hole from where they were throw. Read more.

“Signs Over Semiconductors,” Will Pappenheimer

You may know Silicon Valley for its highly successful companies developing computers, software, semiconductors, and venture capital. With “Signs Over Semiconductors,” you can say something or ask a question and have it written huge in virtual sky smoke above these companies. Read more. WEBSITE

“15 Minute Companies,” by Sander Veenhof

Ever fancied being part of a start-up? Now is your chance! Virtually that is. Whether you are in San Jose, Lewisburg or even in another continent, you are invited to join a temporary “15 minute company”. Read more.

“Clouding Green” by Tamiko Thiel

The world’s computing power is moving into the Cloud – but where does the Cloud get its energy? The augmented reality artwork “Clouding Green” floats a massive augmented reality cloud – in colors ranging from sooty carbon black to brilliant renewable green – over 8 major Silicon Valley cloud computing providers cited in the Greenpeace report “How Clean is Your Cloud.” Touch the cloud in the display of a smartphone to get the numerical value of Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Index and a link to the full Greenpeace report itself. Read more.

“twittAR IDEOGRAMS”, by G.A.Rhodes

Text has returned. Twitter is the contemporary Ideogram, Twitter is the cave painting of contemporary society. twitterAR visualizes that reality at the ZERO1 event. Attendees at the ZERO1 site and the Samek Art Gallery will see their opposite locations. Tweets from the opposite locations, tweets from Silicone Valley or, vice-versa, tweets from Lewisberg, Pennsylvania (and also from any tweets hashtagged #mainfestZERO1), will be translated into ideogram images that appear before the viewer in an pictographic cloud. Like a Rebus Puzzle, the objects talked about thousands of miles away appear and disappear as they are spoken. Like sharing a primal artistic cave. Read more.

“Chinese Take Out,” by 4Gentlemen

With locations at the Presidio overlook of the Golden Gate; the Powell Street cable car turntable at Market Street; the Gates of San Francisco’s Chinatown at Bush Street and Grand Avenue; and the Caltrain Diridon Station in San Jose, “Chinese Take Out,” by 4Gentlemen, visualizes the gruesome reality that the Chinese government has been systematically harvesting organs from imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners for profit. Read more.

“Fortune 500 Cookies” by Tamiko Thiel

Fortune 500 Cookies are gold wafers of silicon that were discovered in Silicon Valley and are now propagating around the world. Their peculiar appearance, unusual for fortune cookies, indicates they are derived from the Intel 4004 chip, the world’s first commercial microprocessor. Search for Fortune 500 Cookies in your vicinity and click on them to find out what your fortune will bring. Or be pro-active: help make the future happen by writing your own fortunes during the Zero1 Biennial, at the Fortune 500 Cookie Fortune Creation Event to be held between San Jose, CA and Lewisburg, PA. Read more.

We all know that parking lots are very boring and unappealing. In Silicon Valley there are huge lots around big computer companies so that all the employees can park and go to their super smart mysterious work deep inside. What if we could decorate these parking lots with fantastic color! Now you can, with the Parking Lot Decorator App. Read more.

“American Plutocracy @ ZERO1,” John Craig Freeman

Are you seeking Silicon Valley?

Let Mr. Monopoly show you the way.

CAUTION: Some corporate headquarters appear closer than they are. Mr. Monopoly’s size is based on CEO pay packages. Do it yourself!

One Response to “ManifestAR @ ZERO1 Biennial 2012”

[…] to happen within the next few weeks. One that I thought to be particularly amusing was by Manafest.AR, a smart phone app that allows anyone to add their own virtual skywriting to any photograph of […]